What is
Drug addiction and what does it do the brain?
Drug
addiction is a chronic disease that is caused by excessive usage of drugs
despite knowing that there may be harmful consequences to the intake. It is a
disease that leads to various changes in the life of an addict; physically and
mentally. When people start taking drugs, it is a voluntary decision, but the
fact that repetitive use of drugs can make people lose the ability to control
drug intake cannot be ignored at any point. It becomes extremely challenging to
get over the drug addiction but there are various different treatments offered
by rehabilitation centers that help people in gaining back the control of their
lives and to defeat their drug addiction. Treatment options are decided after
taking into consideration the intensity of a person's addiction.
It is true that the path to drug addiction begins with taking small amounts of drugs, but it is also true that
over time, a person loses the ability to decide what's best for them. The
intake becomes compulsive as drug addiction takes over parts of the brain involved
in learning, memory, motivation and reward, and starts taking control over
behavior.
Can drug addiction be
managed?
Just like all other
chronic illnesses, drug addiction can also be managed effectively if proper
care is taken. It is definitely not uncommon for a person to relapse and start
using drugs all over again, but treatment of the drug addiction should be such
that a person can go back to it even after relapse and recover from it
successfully.
Even though there are various
treatment options available, people can’t simply stop taking drugs and be
cured. Rehabilitation from drug addiction takes place after long-term
repetitive care in order to recover and live a normal life.
It
becomes difficult for many to understand why and how drug addiction takes over
the life of people and has the tendency to completely destroy someone suffering
from it. This is the reason why people start categorizing addicts as weak. They
simply fail to understand how complicated drug addiction can be, and how badly
it can impact the brain of a person, and that it is not just the matter of
willpower to get over the drug addiction. The world has advanced
scientifically, which is why there are many ways to find out how drug addiction
affects the brain, and many ways have been identified to help people in getting
rid of drug addiction to lead a positive and healthy life.
How
important is prevention?
Drug addiction is a difficult disease
to cure, but it can definitely be prevented. There are various drug addiction
prevention programs that include the family, school, communities, and friends
of people who are currently addicted or may get addicted to drugs. It is
important to outline how drug addiction can be harmful in order to prevent
people from drug intake in the first place.
